


A Dark Rose

by abcsupercorp



Series: Hanahaki Disease [10]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hosie, Pining, Slow Burn, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love, a lot of pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:54:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29470503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abcsupercorp/pseuds/abcsupercorp
Summary: Sometimes, life makes strange things happen. For Josie, it starts with an itching in her throat that causes a lot of discomfort. With Hope and Landon back together, life feels far from fine. She just thinks whatever she's feeling is a cold, and perhaps anything else is just teenage angst…But she could have gone through life without this happening. Because she didn't see this coming at all. She wishes she could have been prepared.ORA Hanahaki AU with a twist.Trigger Warning: Mention of blood and throwing up.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Series: Hanahaki Disease [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918486
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	1. Act I: Scene I: Bloom

"Josie." Says a voice.

No response. 

"Jo." Says the voice again.

No response.

The dirty blonde haired- green eyes girl, rolls her eyes and snatches the book Josie's reading right out of Josie's hands. 

"Hey!" Josie exclaims when the book is practically ripped out of her hands. "What the hell, Chris?" She glares at her friend.

Chris and Josie are currently hanging out in the library. Like they always do. 

"You weren't listening to me!" Chris argues.

" _Christina,_ " Josie says. "That was rude." 

" _Josette_." Chris says. "I was trying to talk to you!" 

"Fine." Josie says. "Talk."

"Are you okay?" Chris asks.

"What?" Josie asks. "What do you mean?" 

"Jo. It's been a week since Landon broke up with you and ran back to Hope." Chris says. 

"Oh…" Josie says quietly, "Right." 

"Are you okay?" Chris asks again.

"I think I am." Josie replies. 

Josie lies about being okay. In fact; she's _far_ from it. She's in love with Hope Mikaelson. Irrevocably in love with her. Deeply, helplessly, irrevocably in love with Hope Andrea Mikaelson.

With her memories back, Josie can't help but fall in love with Hope all over again. The only issue is, Hope's back together with Landon. 

Josie had fallen in love with Hope when they were just kids. Her crush manifested into something bigger and stronger. And when Hope was 'erased' from existence. She, along with everyone, forgot who Hope was, but Josie always felt a piece of her missing, that piece was Hope, that's why she always felt off to Josie and that's why Josie and Landon gravitated towards one another. When Hope returned, Josie was enamoured with the beautiful girl who stood before her during that flag football game. And when she returned everyone's memories, everything came back, including the feeling of her being _in love_ with Hope Andrea Mikaelson. 

And when Landon broke her heart and ran back to Hope, professing his undying love a few seconds after, just a week ago, it was too much of a heartbreak to handle.

So, Josie does what she always does when things become too uncomfortable for her. She avoids the things and people around her And this time around, she avoided both _Hope and Landon_ . A part of her isn't angry that Landon left her because he's in love with Hope. Because Josie also knows what it's like to be in love with Hope. Because Josie _is_ in love with Hope.

But there was too much pain and too much angst when it came to Hope and Landon. Too much. But she wasn't going to let her teenage angst get in the way of Hope and Landon. And while Hope is Josie's greatest love -and likely- her greatest heart break. Josie's epic love, she isn't Hope's. Hope's epic love, Hope's greatest love, is Landon. 

So for a week, Josie avoided them. When they were with her other friends, she found a way around anything the super squad was planning. Instead, she'd wallow around in her room, imagining what could have been, had she never returned anybody's memories, but Josie is not like that. Josie's too selfless for that. But her love for Hope goes beyond words. She thinks her love can save the world. And-

Ouch, there goes a scratch in her throat.

Josie clears her throat. She lets out a cough, it was loud,painful and uncomfortable.

Chris looks up, "Jo, are you okay?" she asks, concerned.

Josie clears her throat again. "I-I'm okay."

"That was a nasty cough, Jo." Chris says in concern. "Do you need me to get Cass?" 

"No-" Josie says. "No." 

Before Chris can reply, the door opens and Hope and Landon come walking in, Josie hears Hope's laugh. She turns her head and sees them. Landon and Hope are holding hands, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears and Hope smiling at Landon fondly, with her blue eyes shining and her smile so bright and beautiful.

Josie puts the book back up in front of her face to avoid being seen, but that attempt fails. 

"Hey, Josie." Says a voice. "Hey, Chris."

"Bird Brain." Chris says as she glares at Landon.

"What?" Landon asks.

"Don't _'what'_ me, Landon. You hurt my girl over here." Chris snaps as she motions her head towards Josie, who's pretending she's hiding behind a book. 

Josie slowly lowers the book to see Hope and Landon holding hands. Her stomach coils uncomfortably. Her throat starts to get _really_ itchy and scratchy, too. "Hi…" she says softly.

"Hey, Josie." Hope smiles. And Josie's heart does flips when Hope smiles at her. 

"Um… what's up?"

"Not much." Hope replies. "Landon and I were just walking and wanted to check up on you."

"She's _fine_ , I can assure you." Chris says, answering for Josie, sounding a little bit overprotective. "Is there another reason you're here?"

Hope frowns. "What's your deal, Chris. You're usually so cool with us." 

"You're _really_ asking me 'what's my deal' right now, Mikaleson." Chris asks as she points to Hope and Landon's hands and then back at Josie. Who still looks uncomfortable. And Hope _swears_ she saw tears start to drip down Josie's face. And that, just sends Hope into a spiral of worry 

"I-I just…" Hope's at a loss for words. "I'm sorry…" 

Chris scoffs. "Please…" she says. "Are you really? Or are you just saying that." 

"No," Hope says as worry rises in her voice. "I _really_ am sorry." She says.

"It's fine…" Josie says. "I-I'm fine." 

"You look like you're on the verge of crying, Jo." Hope says softly. 

"I _said_ .…" Josie says shakily. "I'm _fine_." She gets up abruptly and this startles the couple. "I-I have to go…" she says. 

"Wait, where? I can take you." Hope offers with a soft smile. 

"Um, actually, I think I'll be okay." Josie replies. "C-Come on Chris, lets-" she lets out a pained groan and collapses to the floor.

"Josie!" Chris cries out. She gets down on her knees. "Josie, what's wrong?" 

"I-I can't…" Josie can barely speak. "I'm fine."

" _No_ , you're not." Chris replies. "Jo, you literally just _collapsed_ to the ground." 

Josie starts to stand up. She manages to get back on her own two feet.She loudly coughs into her hand, and there's… a petal? She crushes it up and shoves it into her pocket before anyone can see it. "I really have to go…" she says to Hope and Landon. She starts to cough more and more, this time, it's loud and uncomfortably painful coughs. It causes her throat to feel itchy and tingly. She can't figure it out, though. 

"You don't seem fine to me, Josie. Chris is right. You literally fell down." 

"I said I'm fine!" Josie says, somewhat shouting, startling all three of them. "Just leave me alone, all of you." She huffs as she runs off. 

"What the hell." Chris says as she growls at Hope and Landon. "You guys know she's still not over what happened last week. Why can't you guys just leave her alone?" 

"She's our _friend_ , Chris." Hope says with a low, quiet but angry growl. "I don't get why the hell you think you're in fucking control of whoever the hell Josie talks to, Sanchez." 

"You two broke her heart. You both know damn well about that." Chris says. "Why do you guys think she's been avoiding you? Because she wants to? She cares about both of you and she has to suffer a heart ache because of you guys." She says. "You guys don't give a fuck about her." 

Hope's eyes start to water. Chris' words are hitting her harder than she thought they would. "That's not…" she pauses. " _That's not true."_

"Isn't it?" Chris asks. "Look, Hope. We're friends and all. But Josie… She's my _best friend,_ I know that she's still hurting. And it's because of _you two_." 

"That." Hope says as her voice cracks. " _That isn't fair_ , Chris…" 

"Since when was life ever fair, Hope?" Chris asks. "All I'm saying is, if you two really, genuinely care about Josie, which I'm sure you do if you say you do…" she trails off. "Then you'll give her some space." 

"She's been avoiding us all week!" 

"Yes, I'm well aware." Chris replies. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" she's about to walk away, when Hope grabs her arm. Chris looks at Hope. "Yes?" She asks, brows raised.

"Wait…" Hope says. Struggling not to break down any further. "We..…we never meant to hurt her." She says."I.… _I_ never meant to hurt her. " _Please_ . _Please_ tell her that I'm _so, so sorry_ that I hurt her." 

Chris sighs. She feels bad now. But she doesn't regret what she had said. She knows that it's the truth because of what Josie has been telling her. "I-I don't know…"

" _Please_ , Chris!" Hope begs, hot tears running down her face. " _Please_ tell her. I miss her! I miss her so much. I miss talking to her, I miss laughing with her. Super squad isn't the same without her. She's shut me out this entire week and I just _can't_ _do_ it anymore. I need my friend back." She chokes out. "Just _please_. Tell her to take all the she needs, all the time in the world, even… but please, just tell her how much I miss _her_." 

"I…" 

"Chris, please." Landon says as he pulls a now sobbing Hope into his arms. "Please tell Josie. We really didn't want to hurt her." 

Chris sighs and nods. "Okay."

"Thank you." Hope sobs out. "Thank you." 

In Josie's dorm, she locks the door and grabs the crushed up petal from her pocket and examines it. It's a white petal… covered in her blood. That isn't normal at all. 

_So what the hell?_

Confused as hell, Josie finds her head spinning and collapses onto the ground. Passing out. 

Chris nods and walks away. She walks to Josie's dorm and knocks on the door.

"Jo? It's me." Chris says. No answer. "Josie?" She says. "Jo, I know you're in there." She says. "Please open up." Still no answer. Chris begins to worry. "Jo, please?" 

A shrill scream is heard throughout the entire school.

_Lizzie_

That only means one thing.

_Josie_

"Josie!" Lizzie screams as she collapses to the ground, "Josie!" She screams again. "No, no, _no_!" 

Chris' bones go ice cold, now she's panicking. 

"Josie!" She says. "Josie, open the door." She says again. "Josie, please!" She begs as she rattles the door knob but it doesn't open. "Josie Saltzman, you open this door right now!" She demands. 

She turns to her left to see Hope running towards the room. "What happened?" Hope asks.

"I-I don't know." Chris says. "She-She won't open the door!" 

"Let me try." Hope says. She places a hand on the door and it swings open. There, lying on the ground is Josie. Passed out.

"Josie!" Chris cries out. She rushes to Josie's side. "Josie, wake up." 

"What's going on with her?" Hope asks.

"I-I don't know, but-but Lizzie screamed." Chris says as she panics. "This isn't good, Hope. Lizzie only screamed like that because she felt something off about Josie." she says. "Almost as if.."

"Almost as if what, Chris?"

"No, that can't be right, she was fine this morning." Chris mutters to herself.

"Chris, what the hell is going on?" Hope asks, now starting to panic herself. 

The banshee ignores the tribrid, eyebrows knitted together, Hope watches as Chris puts her thinking face on. Trying to figure out what the hell is going on with Josie. 

"Chris, please. What the fuck is going on?" Hope asks.

"I-I don't know, Hope." Chris mumbles. "But something… something doesn't _feel_ right. I can feel something, but I can't put a finger on what it is." She turns her head so she makes eye contact with the tribrid.

"Can you try to think? Because it doesn't explain why our friend is passed out on the floor, and why Lizzie just screamed her sister's name like she had just died." 

"I… that's the thing, Hope." Chris says. "The twins… they can feel each other… but Lizzie screamed, that means their magic link must have been broken." She pauses. "It means Josie and Lizzie's link is broken. This isn't good, Hope. They need their magic link or it could be fatal for both of them." 

  
  


"Oh my God." Hope says. "I-I think we should take her to the nurse."

Chris nods. "Right, yes." She stands up, picking Josie up and carries her in a bridal carry as she and Hope walk to the nurses wing. 

About an hour or two pass by, Chris is by Josie's bed side, while Hope went to do something. Hope had asked Chris to inform her if anything changes with Josie. Chris, simply agrees.

Another hour passes and Josie wakes up with a startle and a gasp.

"Oh!" Chris says as she sighs out in relief. "Jo, thank God." 

"What… what happened to me?" 

"Hope and I found you passed out in your bedroom." Chris explains. "Your sister screamed your name like you had just died."

"Died? But I'm alive." 

"I know. I have a feeling your link with her is broken." Chris explains.

"Our link? We need our link." Josie says. 

"I know you do." Chris nods. "I don't know Josie. Something about you has felt off this entire day." 

"What's going to happen to me?" Josie asks. 

"I don't know, Jo…" Chris says. "But I don't think it's a good thing." 

"Chris, you're a banshee… You can feel things before they happen." Josie began. "If you have a feeling that something bad is going to happen involving me, I need to know what." 

"I know Jo, and I'm sorry, I'm usually good at telling. But this… this I can't even put a finger on it." 

Josie sighs. "It's okay. I get it." 

"Okay, well, I need to get Hope, because she said she needs to see you if anything happens regarding you." 

Josie's stomach coils uncomfortably. "H-Hope?" She asks.

"Yes." Chris replies as she raises a brow. "You know, Hope, our friend?"

"Right.…" Josie laughs awkwardly. "You-you can go get her." 

Chris gives Josie's hand a squeeze before getting out of her chair and leaving to find Hope.

About 10 minutes pass by and Hope & Chris return. 

"Hey, Jo." Hope says. "Are you okay?" 

"I-I think so…" Josie mumbles out. "How about you?" 

"I'm fine." Hope replies. "I was just helping Landon try to learn how to fly again." She began. "But I hope things aren't too awkward around us anymore, Jo. I miss you and I'm really sorry I hurt you. We both are. I want us to be friends again. We were all best friends and I consider you my best friend, so-" 

Josie's mind tunes Hope out after the mention of Landon. Landon, who's in love with Hope and who Hope is in love with. Her stomach coils uncomfortably and her head starts to spin. Her face goes really pale. 

"I hope this means we can be friends again and-" Hope stops when she notices Josie looks awfully pale.

"Josie?" Hope says. "Are you okay?" She asks.

Josie doesn't respond. It's almost as if she's frozen. 

"Jo." Chris says. "Josie." 

Josie scrambles out of the bed and runs to the bathroom, ignoring Hope and Chris' calls. She runs into the stall and hunches over the toilet bowl. She starts to gag and gag, bile burning in her throat and her throat is sore and itchy. Her head is spinning and she starts to throw up. She feels hot tears spilling down her face as she throws up… and when she finishes throwing up. She sees white roses in the toilet. She groans. "What's happening to me.…" she whispers. She moves away from the toilet and just sobs. Her lungs feel like it's being pierced with a sword and her heart is shattered. Her throat is sore, itchy and dry. 

_So Much Pain._

After being released from the nurses wing, Josie spends hours combing through multiple research and medical books trying to figure out as to why she was throwing up flowers. Because, that sure as hell isn't normal. And Josie knows that for young supernaturals, puberty is a bit… _different_ but still, it makes no sense. 

Josie's about to give up, mainly because she's in the library and passed curfew. When she stumbles across a page in one of the books. It's a picture of a woman with a carnation blooming out of her mouth. Josie feels a chill run down her spine. She reads the title. 

_Hanahaki Disease: The disease of unrequited love._

Josie traces the word with her fingers "Hanahaki disease." She whispers to herself. She reads the paragraph.

_The hanahaki disease is a disease of unrequited love where it's victim has a flower growing in their lungs. There is no cure and the only way to stop it is if the object of affection returns the victim's love. There's an old lore that talks about a woman in love with another. Her love was unrequited and unfortunately, she was cursed with the hanahaki disease. She would throw up cherry blossoms and cough up petals. Occasionally, she would throw up blood with the cherry blossoms. Once the lady she loved married a man in the village, the young woman eventually died. With a cherry blossom bursting from her mouth. There is no known cure._

Josie tried to keep reading, but that was the only page in the book that she could find. She lets out a groan. "That's the only thing?!" She exclaims to herself. "So, I'm just going to die." She laughs. " _Great_." she says bitterly. 

  
The lights flicker and Josie hears a noise. "Hello?" She says. But nobody answers. "I better go to bed…" she tells herself. She gathers her belongings when she spots something in the corner. It's a black book with a photo of a red rose, on the cover. She grabs the book and shoves it into her stack of books and other things, and walks back to her dorm. 

Once Josie's back in the comfort of her own room, she opens the black book and reads the first page.

Greece: March 3rd AD

It started with Juliet and Alexander

The next morning, Josie's reading the journal. Nothing makes sense. She's throwing up flowers (white roses to be specific) because she's _in love_ with _Hope Mikaelson?_ Because she has _unrequited love_ for _Hope Mikaelson?_ And now she might just… _die? 'That sounds like a load of fun.'_ Josie thinks to herself sarcastically.

Josie reads over her list of things she's researched about this disease.

**1) This disease only affects the mythical, magical, supernatural and paranormal.**

**2) The flower depends on the person who the victim harbors feelings for.**

**3) The love is always unrequited or one sided,**

**4) There's simply no known cure.**

As she's reading, the door opens, Josie quickly shoves all the research she's been doing under her pillow. 

"Josie, are you still moping over Hope and Landon?" Lizzie asks as she enters their room.

"What?" Josie asks. "No." She lies.

"I can feel you, you know, and I know you're lying." 

"Lizzie, I'm fine." Josie says.

"Good, because there's no point in you moping and wallowing about an elf." Lizzie comments.

"He wasn't all that bad, you know." 

"Yeah, sure." Lizzie scoffs. "He hurt you and Hope just let him. Don't think they're on my good side right now." 

"I can't control how Landon feels." Josie says. "He was in love with Hope before he got his memories back." 

"Well, that's a load of shit." Lizzie says. "Anyways, you and I are going to go out tonight!" She cheers. "No more wallowing or moping around, Josie."

"If I _were_ wallowing, I'd ask you to let me wallow a little while longer." Says Josie. "And where exactly are we going?" 

"There's a party tonight, and we're going to go." Lizzie says.

"Uh, yeah, no." Josie laughs. "You can go if you like, but parties are _not_ my scene." 

"Oh, Josie." Lizzie laughs. "It's cute you think you have an option." 

"What the hell does that mean?" 

"It means, you need to stop brooding and glooming over the fact that a stupid bird chose Hope over you, and move on." Lizzie says. "And you're definitely going."

" _No_ , _No_ I am not." 

  
  


But of course, Josie went. It took 15 minutes of arguing with Lizzie and one close Lizzie begging session, for Josie to finally cave and agree to go. 

Walking over to the table, Josie grabs a red cup and takes a sip. 

"Hey." Says a voice. 

Josie turns around and sees Hope walking over to her.

"Hi." Josie mumbles softly. 

"I didn't expect to see you here. I know that parties really aren't your thing." 

Josie shrugs. "Yeah, well, Lizzie convinced me." She says.

Hope laughs. "And by 'convince', you mean she forced you to come?" 

Josie laughs too, "Yeah, something like that." She says. "How about you? Parties aren't your thing either."

"Landon thought it would be a good idea to go. Something about letting things go back to normal, or whatever." 

"What do you mean?" Josie asks. "Things _are_ back to normal. Things _have_ been." 

"It doesn't feel that way." 

"What do you mean?" Josie asks.

"It feels like I broke our friendship, Jo. I'm really sorry I hurt you." Hope sighs. "I really am." She says, "And I know-" 

This angers Josie a little bit. Why would Hope think any of this? Does she not realize how perfect she is? How special she is? Why would she ever have to apologize?

"Hope, stop." Josie says as she cuts Hope off. "You belong here, okay? I don't care about what happened anymore. I want you to stay because you belong here." She says softly. _'You belong here with us, with me'_ she thinks to herself. But Hope looks at her. _'Did I think that out loud?'_

  
The reality of it all, was that Josie wasn't jealous that Landon was attracted to Hope. It was that Hope, the girl Josie had quickly fallen in love with during that football game, was in love with Landon, when she so desperately wanted Hope to be in love with her. It was never about Landon. It was about Josie falling in love and being in love with the gorgeous, fiery red-haired blue-eyed girl that stood right before her. Josie had fallen in love with Hope without her memories.

  
Hope nods, her ocean blue eyes that Josie had fallen deeply in love with, starting to water. She sighs. "Okay." 

Just as Josie is about to speak, Landon walks over. Hope turns around and sees him, and her face immediately melts into a look of adoration. No signs of tears anywhere. Josie's stomach coils uncomfortably as she watches Hope kiss Landon's cheek. So, without them noticing, she walks off. 

Josie wanders into the forest and starts to throw up. White roses coated with her blood hit the ground. She lets out a pained moan and sighs. This is _never_ going to end well. This is _not_ going to end well. It didn't end well for the other people before her and it sure as hell won't end well for her. She makes her way back to the party to see Lizzie, Cass and Chris walking over to her.

"Jo, what the hell? I told you to mingle with people to get your mind off of things, not wander away because you ran into Hope and Landon."

  
Pain surged through Josie at the mention of Hope and Landon. 

  
"Leave her alone, Lizzie." Cass says. "Jo, are you okay?" 

But Josie doesn't answer, instead she just collapses to the ground. She lets out a pained moan, and before she knows it, Chris is by her side. "What's going on with her?" Chris asks Lizzie.

"I-I don't know, she was fine this morning." Lizzie replies. 

Josie starts to throw up as Chris rubs her back. Then, Chris pauses once she notices the flowers that Josie had just thrown up.

"Josie…" Chris says. "What the hell?" 


	2. Act I: Scene II: The Secret Flower

Chris and Lizzie are pacing back and forth in the twins room. Lizzie is reading the journal that Josie had snatched from the library, while Chris is trying to let her brain register everything that Josie had just said to her. Lizzie slams the book shut, startling Josie, and slams it onto her bed. It took over 20 minutes to convince Lizzie and Chris that she wasn't being messed with or it wasn't some prank. 

"Let me get this straight." Lizzie says as she stops pacing back and forth, making direct eye contact with her sister. "You have some weird, murderous flower growing inside of your lungs, that could evidently _kill_ you because you somehow got cursed with this weird disease of unrequited love, all because you're fucking _in love_ with Hope freaking Mikaelson?!" 

Josie gulps, her heart pounding and she can feel both Chris' anxiety and Lizzie's overwhelmed emotions, trying to prevent Lizzie's possible breakdown. . "Yes." She says. 

"Josie!" Lizzie says. "I thought this entire time, you were still trying to get over Landon breaking up with you and I thought it was just a crush!" 

"It was never about Landon, Lizzie." Josie began. "I mean, yeah, at first I was upset that he broke my heart. But then it finally hit me that I'm in love with Hope. I loved Landon as a friend and I care about him, but _everything_ has been about Hope. It's why Landon and I gravitated towards each other in the first place. It's why I always felt weird about everything, like something was missing. It's why I was the one off at that flag football game, it's why something about her felt off. It was _always_ about Hope.I've _always_ been _in love_ with Hope." she says, "And yeah, at first it was just a crush, but now.." 

Chris looks at Josie. "This is what I've been feeling." She says. "This is why I couldn't tell what was wrong with you."

"But that doesn't explain why our link is broken." Josie says, referring to her and her sister. "Or why it seems to be broken." 

"Look." Chris says. "I think we should tell your father." 

"I'm with Chris." Lizzie nods. 

"Uh… no. Absolutely not." Josie says as she shook her head. "I don't want dad to freak out and lock me up."

"But Josie. You could _die_!" Lizzie exclaims. "If you die, I don't know how I'd be able to handle that." 

The lights start to flicker. 

"Lizzie, calm down." Josie says as she stands up and places a hand on Lizzie's shoulder. "Breathe." 

"No!" Lizzie says, shoving her sister's hand away. "I don't want to calm down. I think you should tell dad, and Chris does too. Why can't you listen to her?" She asks. "Why can't you listen to us?"

"Because telling Dad would only make things worse." 

"Do you have such a fucking _martyr complex_ that you have to risk _dying_ and risk losing _everything_ because you don't want to tell dad?!" Lizzie exclaims. 

"Lizzie, I can't say anything and neither can you." Josie says. She looks at Chris. "You can't tell anyone either, Chris."

"Jo, I don't know if this is a good idea." Chris says as she bit her lip. "Lizzie's right, you _do_ have a _martyr complex_ ." She says. "You _need_ to tell your father." 

"Look." Josie says. "We keep this to ourselves for _now_ , and if anything gets worse, which hopefully, it doesn't, I'll tell dad. Okay?" 

Lizzie and Chris exchange glances. Then, Chris nods. "Fine."

"What!? Chris, no." Lizzie tries to argue. 

"Lizzie, Josie's not going to ever let anyone tell your father." 

" 'Cause she's being so _fucking_ stubborn!" Lizzie argues. 

"Yelling at her won't make the situation any better, Lizzie." Chris says.

"Chris, you're her best friend, aren't you?"

"I mean, yeah, but-" Chris is cut off.

"But nothing. Josie is stubborn, we both know this. This? whatever the hell Josie is dealing with? This could kill her. She could die!" Lizzie argues, hot tears now falling down her face. She looks back at her sister, "You could _die,_ Josie!" 

"Lizzie-" 

"No!" Lizzie yells, "If you don't want to tell dad, then I will!" 

"Lizzie, _please_ !" Josie begs. " _Please_ keep this to yourself. Please!" 

Lizzie frowns and hot tears are still spilling down her face. "I-I don't know, Josie."

"Please, Lizzie." Josie says. "Please."

Lizzie sighs, "Fine."

"Thank you." Josie says.

"But if anything happens, I'm telling dad. Whether you're on board or not, I don't care." 

"Fine." Josie nods. "Fine, yes. If anything happens, you can tell dad." 

"I think we should tell Cassandra." Chris says. 

"Chris, no." 

"Jo, Cass is an expert in this area, Cassandra loves flowers and she studies all sorts of mysterious diseases. She'll know what research we need to look into. Besides, she's my sister and Lizzie's best friend. She'll find out eventually." Chris says, "I promise I'll convince her to not tell anyone." 

Josie and Lizzie exchange glances. "Fine." 

Chris nods and leaves the room. Lizzie paces back and forth, trying to figure out what to say next.

"Lizzie, you're making me anxious. Can you please stop pacing?" 

"I-I'm sorry, Jo. I just don't know if not telling dad is such a good idea." Lizzie says.

Josie gives her sister a look, "Lizzie, you _promised._ " 

"I know, and I won't say anything, as long as-" Lizzie's cut off with the Sanchez twins returning to their dorm.

"Hey." Cass says. "Chris told me there's something going on with Josie and said I might be able to help?" she asks. "Is this about Josie throwing up flowers?" 

"Yeah, here." Chris says, grabbing the journal. She looks at Josie, asking for permission and Josie nods. Chris hands Cass the journal. 

The raven haired Sanchez twin flips through the journal, as well as some of the other research that Josie's done.

"Cass, say something." Chris says when her sister's been silent for over 15 agonizing minutes.

"Chris..I-I don't know what any of this means."

"What? Cassandra, you're literally a witch who studies and researches weird, mysterious diseases all the time and you've got a thing for flowers." Chris argues. 

"That's the thing, Christina." Cass says, "This, _this disease_ , I've never heard of this before."

"So, what does this mean, then?" 

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it means we'll need to do more digging." Cass tells her sister. 

"Does this mean Josie's actually going to die?" Lizzie asks, panic rising in her voice.

"No!" Cass exclaims, "No. I won't let that happen." she looks at Josie, "I won't let that happen, okay?" 

Josie doesn't answer, she simply nods. 

"Chris says I can't tell anyone. Are you sure about this?" Cass asks. 

"Please, Cassandra." Josie begs. "Please don't tell anyone." 

"I won't…" Cass says. "But why didn't you ever let us know you're in love with Hope?"

"Because it's too painful, Cass." 

"More painful than the truth?" Cass asks.

"Even more painful than the truth."


	3. Act I: Scene III: The Tale Of A Rose

Josie, Lizzie, Chris and Cass stand in the Saltzman twins bedroom, discussing just exactly what they should do. 

"We all need to put effort into researching this." Cass says. "If we can find out how to fix this entire situation, we can potentially save Josie's life." 

"Please don't talk as if my sister could die." Lizzie says. "It only makes me anxious. It doesn't help that our link is suddenly broken." she continues. 

"Lizzie, calm down." Cass says, sensing her best friend's emotions. "I won't let Josie die, okay? I love her just as much as you and Chris do." 

Lizzie takes a deep breath. "Okay." she says. "But can we please figure out why Josie's link with me broke?"

"I think I have an idea.." Cass mutters.

"I see the gears turning." Chris says. "Lay it on us, Cassandra. Hit us with what you got." 

"Okay, so we know that the link theoretically broke when Josie passed out yesterday, right?" 

"Yes." The Saltzman twins and dirty blonde Sanchez twin said in sync. 

"I think it's got something to with this hana- something that Josie has." Cass says. "It broke because she fell victim to this disease." 

"We need our link, Cass. Lizzie and I could end up in some deep trouble if we don't have it." 

"Yes, Jo, I know. Chris and I have a special link of our own. Even if Chris is a banshee." Cass says. "Look, why don't I take a look at these notes overnight, and then first thing tomorrow, we can discuss. Okay? We'll meet up at the park and we'll discuss everything. Hopefully that way we won't have to run into-" Cassandra was cut off. 

"Don't. Please don't say their names." Josie says as she looks like she's about to be sick, "I can't hear their names without-" she stops as she coughs up blood. " _ that _ ." 

"Shit, Josie." Lizzie says. 

"Fuck, Jo, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Cassandra. The disease of unrequited love is cruel in it's own way." Josie says. 

"You don't deserve this." Lizzie sighs. "I really want to kick Hope's ass right now."

Josie laughs, "Lizzie, don't. It won't make Hope love me back." 

"Maybe I can knock some sense into her"

"Lizzie." Josie laughs again. "I love you and I love how you can be protective, but kicking Hope's ass will not solve anything. What we need to do right now is figure out how to solve  _ this  _ problem, not cause  _ another _ problem." 

"Fine." Lizzie says. "But if she does anything to break your heart anymore, you better try to hold me back." 

Josie laughs and pulls her sister in for a hug, playfully kissing her cheek.

" _ Ick! _ " Lizzie laughs. 

"Hey!" Josie says as she playfully smacks her sister's arms. "That's the last time I'll ever be affectionate towards you."

Everyone laughs softly. "Okay, Cassandra, I agree with what you said." Josie says, "You can take my research and we can meet up tomorrow at the park. Hopefully you're right and we won't run into…." she pauses, " _ them" _

"We'll meet tomorrow after classes are over." Cassandra says. "For now, we have to go."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Josie says. "Or, we'll see you tomorrow is the better term."

"Yeah, you will." Chris nods. She walks over and pulls Josie in for a hug. "Promise me something, Josie, promise me that if anything else goes wrong, you tell your father." 

Josie nods. "Okay." She says. "I promise." 

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: abcsupercorp
> 
> tumblr: abcsupercorp


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